Red Flags That These Pop Star Marriages Were Doomed

Popstar marriages. Do they ever really last? We've seen plenty of our favorite singers head to splitsville over the years, with many a marriage coming to an end under the intense scrutiny that can come with living life in the spotlight. "It's really hard when you have people with an enormous amount of power, fame, money, and ego and you put two in one room," Naughty Gossip's Rob Shuter told Glamour back in 2016 of why so many celebrity marriages seem to end in failure. "In marriage, most peoples' lives generally stay the same. That doesn't happen to celebrities. One movie or record can change their lives overnight," he added.

Sadly, we've seen that happen time and time again, with famous faces going from writing love songs to signing divorce papers more times than we can even count. More often than not though, when at least one half of a couple is a world famous pop star who has every part of their life put under the gossip microscope, there are some tell-tale signs a relationship just isn't going to work in the long run. 

From flirty husbands to emotional affairs, here are some of the most notable celebrity marriages we knew early on were never going to last.

Shortly before Britney Spears and Kevin Federline divorced in 2006 (with the "Toxic" hitmaker filing the paperwork to call time on their marriage), there were plenty of rumors there was trouble in paradise for the pop superstar and her backup dancer baby daddy — after just two years of marriage.

The proof? In November 2005 — two months after they welcomed their first son, Sean Preston — Star did a poll of more than 5,000 people in which 96% of respondents suggested Federline was sponging off the popstar (hey, maybe she should have told him to "Work, B***h"?) and was no good for her (via Slate). A source also claimed to the outlet that Spears had been left miffed because her now-former husband had been partying hard and was supposedly spotted flirting with other women. Spears was clearly so done with her man at the time that she filed for divorce mere weeks after giving birth to their second child, son Jayden James.

Federline opened up about his partying ways several years later, admitting to Us Weekly in 2015 (via Independent), "Our life was running at 150,000 miles per hour. I soaked up as much of the lifestyle as I could. I'd walk into a club and get a table worth $15,000 a night with unlimited free drinking ... But everything got so crazy." No pun intended, we're sure.

In the words of Jessica Simpson, a little bit goes a long way, and that was certainly the case when it came to other relationships before she filed for divorce from Nick Lachey. These two were the golden couple of the early 2000s, tying the knot in 2002 and immediately inviting the reality cameras to record pretty much every second of their life as newlyweds for the aptly titled MTV show, "Newlyweds: Nick & Jessica." The two seemed madly in love, flaunting their romance on magazine covers and in soppy duets. But the cracks started to appear pre-split with Simpson being accused of getting too close to another man.

That man? Her "Dukes of Hazzard" co-star Johnny Knoxville. The rumors were plastered across the tabloids in 2005 to the point Knoxville repeatedly had to deny them ("It's not true. Jessica and I are just friends. She's a great girl and all that, but all the rumors — I just kind of take it in stride. But it's kind of hurtful to the families that are involved," he told GQ). Only, she later admitted that wasn't 100% accurate. Simpson copped to having what she called an "emotional affair" with Knoxville in her 2020 memoir, "Open Book."

Other early signs this one was doomed? People reported Lachey started partying more as the cracks started to show and refused to join Simpson in Texas for a family Thanksgiving shortly before their split.

There were rampant rumors things between Nick Cannon and Mariah Carey weren't exactly a sweet, sweet fantasy before the divorce papers were filed in January 2015 — and Cannon himself even confirmed they weren't a "Vision of Love" towards the end. "There is trouble in paradise," he said in a refreshingly honest interview with The Insider in August 2014 (via ABC News). "We have been living in separate houses for a few months."

This news about Cannon — who at that point was only dad to his and Carey's twins — came shortly after Page Six reported that month they were no longer living in the same home, with a source sharing, "He's been living out of hotels. They're fighting a lot." The outlet claimed Carey supposedly sent a security guard with Cannon to Vegas with the hopes the employee would keep Cannon away from other women after she suspected he may have had a straying eye. There were also reports that Carey supposedly had a little bit of the green-eyed monster, and didn't necessarily trust her then-husband not to cheat while he was traveling.

Another sign this love train was heading to Splitsville? Fans noticed that they hadn't been photographed together in the months before their divorce, despite the two clearly loving the camera in happier times (heck, they even invited the paps to their vow renewals!). Cannon tried to change the narrative with a throwback social media snap, which, clearly failed.

It was pretty clear Katy Perry and Russell Brand's marriage was coming to an end when they spent Christmas and New Year apart. A source told Us Weekly in December 2011 that the two — who married in October 2010 — had hit a rough patch just over a year after their nuptials, claiming the seemingly "Hot n Cold" lovers had a serious blowout just before Christmas and never got over it. "She was like, 'F**k you. I'm going to do my own thing.' Russell replied, 'Fine, f**k you too,'" they shared, purporting that the two fought regularly ever since they got together.

An E! News insider also claimed the couple had been spending more and more time without one another towards the end of 2011 and didn't even reunite for the holidays! The two made it pretty clear they weren't desperate to be in one another's arms anymore when Perry was spotted in Hawaii just before celebrating the New Year, while Brand headed back to his native England — all that despite CTV claiming in November 2010 they had a pact to never go more than a week without seeing each other. Even more telling than the duo not spending the most wonderful time of the year together? Brand was spotted sans wedding ring in London. Eek.

Brand ended up being the one who officially called time on things, filing for divorce one day before New Year's Eve. Happy New Year... not.

There were signs LeAnn Rimes and Dean Sheremet's marriage was coming to an end before her notorious 2009 affair with her now husband, Eddie Cibrian. Though it seemed like everything exploded in scandal for Rimes and Sheremet, People reported the two had actually been living in separate cities before the world knew about her new romance with her "Northern Lights" co-star. Rimes had reportedly made the big move to Los Angeles to focus on her acting and singing career, while Sheremet stayed in Nashville to pursue his songwriting passions. "Maybe there was less of an effort to meet up in those moments where they typically would have met up," a source told the outlet of how they grew apart in different cities.

Of course, any issues the married couple had were surely then exasperated when Rimes started working — and fell in love with — Cibrian, who was then married to "The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills" star Brandi Glanville. The celebrity entertainment world was then rocked when Us Weekly shared photos of Rimes and Cibrian at what appeared to be a very romantic dinner in Los Angeles in March 2009, before it was confirmed in July 2009 that Rimes and her husband were separated and had been for a while. An insider claimed the two were supposedly still trying to work on their marriage though, but Sheremet finally filed for divorce in December 2009.

Tamar Braxton and Vince Herbert's marriage was plagued with serious abuse allegations for a while before they actually called it quits, with fans worried what exactly was going on between the stars long before they signed divorce papers. One of the most shocking and high-profile dramas in their marriage came in 2016, when TMZ claimed that Herbert had allegedly bit Braxton on the hand while they were staying at a hotel together in August 2016. The two attempted to dispel rumors of trouble in paradise though, as paps got snaps of them holding hands as they put on a united front just days later.

However, two months later, the twosome's rocky marriage was back in the spotlight when Daily Mail reported police had previously been called to the now-former couple's home for another alleged domestic dispute while her family was over. "Since there were no physical signs of battery, Vince was not arrested. But these fights are happening more and more," a source said of the alleged incident, claiming Braxton had purportedly been living in what they described as a "private hell" with her husband (who also served as her manager) after losing her gig as a co-host on "The Real."

Braxton and Herbert's marriage lasted around another year after the abuse rumors swirled, and she filed for divorce in October 2017.

If you or someone you know is dealing with domestic abuse, you can call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1−800−799−7233. You can also find more information, resources, and support at their website.

One way to let everyone know you're over your marriage? Telling the world you're over the whole male race before then singing a song you wrote about your previous breakup with your husband. Miley Cyrus and Liam Hemsworth's marriage appeared to show a few signs of trouble before they split in August 2019, as Cyrus boldly told fans at a show in June 2019, "I'm f*****g sick of men." She then launched into "Wrecking Ball," which she'd previously hinted was about one of her previous splits with Hemsworth amid their years of being on/off. Hey, as Cyrus once crooned, nothing breaks like a heart!

After that, fans noticed that they'd appeared to stop sharing photos of one another on their social media accounts, and People reported that Cyrus had shared snaps across her social media accounts while she was vacationing without her man in Italy — in which she wasn't wearing her wedding ring. No man and no ring in a foreign country? Now that really is a tell-tale sign!

Hemsworth was the one who eventually filed for divorce from the former "Hannah Montana" star, with People confirming he'd hired an attorney prior to the news hitting the headlines.

It's no secret that Whitney Houston and Bobby Brown's marriage was never the most stable of unions, and it sounds like the tension between the two started immediately after they tied the knot. Houston's friend and assistant Robyn Crawford claimed in 2019's "A Song for You: My Life with Whitney Houston," that Houston and Brown appeared to start having arguments on their honeymoon in 1992, insinuating there was physical abuse in the relationship right after their wedding. 

Crawford claimed she saw Houston with an injury and asked her what happened. "[She said,] 'We had a disagreement. I threw a glass, the glass hit the wall, shattered, and that's how the cut happened. Couples argue all the time and it's never a big deal.'" Both continued to be plagued by allegations of abuse and drug use from there, with Houston's hairdresser Ellin LaVar alleging to People in 2018, "The problem with Whitney and Bobby was they exacerbated each other's addiction. She did more cocaine, he drank more. But when they got together they both started doing more cocaine and drinking."

Brown later opened up about the trouble in paradise amid the abuse and drug use, admitting to Robin Roberts on "20/20" in 2016 that he hit Houston on one occasion. "The last few years of our marriage, it was terrible. Both of us trying to be clean, or one of us trying to be clean," he said.

If you or someone you know is dealing with domestic abuse, you can call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1−800−799−7233. You can also find more information, resources, and support at their website.

If you or anyone you know needs help with addiction issues, help is available. Visit the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration website or contact SAMHSA's National Helpline at 1-800-662-HELP (4357).